Alex Metreveli
Alexander Irakliyevich Metreveli is a retired Soviet tennis player of Georgian background.
Personal info
Metreveli is an honorary citizen of Australia. He was active from 1962 to 1980 and won 62 singles titles.His grandson Aleksandre Metreveli, also a professional tennis player, has represented Georgia in the Davis Cup.
Career
In 1962, aged 17, Metreveli lost 8–10, 6–3, 4–6 to Stanley Matthews in the final of the Wimbledon List of [Grand Slam boys' singles champions|boys' championship].He is best known for making the final at Wimbledon in 1973, where he lost to Jan Kodeš of Czechoslovakia. Metreveli became then the first Soviet tennis player to reach a Grand Slam singles final and, as of 2025, he remains the only player from USSR or ex Soviet countries to reach Wimbledon men's final.
Another spotlight of his career is his performance at Australian Open with 3 appearances where he never lost before quarter-finals and reached semi-final once.
He reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 9 in 1974 and won 9 ATP singles titles in his career. Metreveli was a member of the Dynamo sports society. He competed in professional tour events during the 1970s.
Grand Slam singles performance timeline
| Tournament | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 |
| Australian Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1972 Australian [Open – Men's singles|SF] | QF | A | QF | A |
| French Open | A | A | A | 2R | QF | 3R | 1R | 1R | 4R | 2R | SF | 2R | 2R | 2R | A |
| Wimbledon | A | 1R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 1R | 4R | 2R | 2R | 4R | QF | F | QF | 4R | 3R |
| US Open | 3R | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | A | A | A | QF | 1R | 2R |